Baggage conveyor system

ABSTRACT

A conveyor system (10) is manufactured or retrofitted to include porcelain enamel on steel pallets (22). The porcelain enamel on steel pallets (22) may have decorative designs (30). The pallets (22) are secured to pallet support members (16) that have wheels (18) secured to them. The pallets (22), support members (16) and wheels (18) travel along wheel tracks (14) that form an endless path under the influence of a motive force. Airport luggage carrousels may be retrofitted to include porcelain enamel on steel pallets (22) by removing the existing panels, fabricating porcelain enamel steel pallets (22) that are approximately the same size the previously used panels and then fastening the porcelain enamel on steel pallets (22) to the carousel (10).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 08/103,881, filed Aug. 5, 1993 and entitled "Baggage ConveyorSystem", now U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,981, issued May 17, 1994, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/041,716, filed Apr. 1,1993, by Carl A. Crandall, William G. Walker and Charles G. Knight, andentitled "Baggage Conveyor System", now U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,571, issuedNov. 23, 1993.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to conveyor systems, and more particularlyrelates to an improved pallet for use on conveyor systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conveyor systems are used to move individual articles such as solids orfree-flowing bulk materials over a horizontal, inclined, declined, orvertical path of travel typically with continuous motion. One type ofconveyor system is often found at commercial airports and is fortransporting luggage from a loading area to a baggage claim area wherethe luggage is moved in an endless pattern until claimed. The portion ofthis type of luggage conveyor system that typically moves the luggage inan endless pattern is frequently referred to as a luggage or baggagecarousel.

In the past, luggage carrousels have frequently featured stainless steelpallets that overlap and move relative to one another during operationand upon which the luggage rests while being transported about theendless circulation pattern. The stainless steel pallets have compriseda considerable amount of the expense associated with constructing such aconveyor system and have occasionally developed problems with wear onthe pallets. Additionally, the pallets have typically been void ofcolors or other indicia on the reflective surface of the stainlesssteel. While some efforts have been made to lower the cost and addindicia to pallets, those efforts have generally been unsatisfactory.

In one approach, decals with printed material or colors or other indiciaon them have been applied to the stainless steel pallets. The decals donot lower cost and have experienced problems with wear. Another approachhas been to form the panels or pallets from a transparent material suchas a polycarbonate or other plastic material and to place printedmaterials underneath the transparent panels. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No.5,165,526. Installing and fabricating the transparent panels hasinvolved considerable effort including mounting the printed material andthen aligning the panels over the printed matter. Another problem withthis approach has been that the plastic wears at an unsatisfactory raterequiring costly maintenance or replacement.

A need has thus arisen for an economical, easily fabricated andinstalled pallet for use in conveyor systems such as luggage carrouselsthat allows for durable decorative designs or other indicia to beapplied to the pallet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, the disadvantages and problemsassociated with previously developed conveyor systems or conveyor systempallets have been substantially reduced or eliminated by use of thepresent conveyor system pallets. In accordance with one aspect of thepresent invention a conveyor pallet is fabricated of steel and coatedwith porcelain enamel.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a conveyorpallet with multi-color decorative designs or other indicia is provided.In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention a methodof retrofitting luggage carrousels is provided that allows for thedisplay of decorative designs and other indicia.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 2 is a front view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross section of one embodiment of a palletconstructed according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiment of the present invention and its advantages arebest understood by referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, likenumerals being used for like and corresponding parts of the variousdrawings. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a luggage carousel 10 asfrequently found in commercial airports. The luggage carousel 10 has adeck 12. Deck 12 is surrounded by support wheel tracks 14. Support wheeltracks 14 define an endless path that is frequently oval shaped. Evenlyspaced along the wheel tracks 14 are pallet support members 16. Attachedto each end of pallet support members 16 are support wheels 18. Supportmembers 16 are configured to be transported along support wheel tracks14 by the rolling of support wheels 18. The support members 16 areconnected to each other at the top by straps 20 that run between supportmembers 16. The bottoms are connected to each other by rigid links.Thus, the support members 16, the support wheels 18, and the straps 20function in a manner analogous to a train on endless railroad tracks.

Attached to the pallet support members 16 are pallets 22. Pallets 22 aredesigned to overlap one another and are secured to pallet supportmembers 16 to form a flexible surface somewhat analogous to the scaleson a fish. The overlap configuration of the pallets 22 allows them toslide relative to each other as the pallets 22 travel around the cornersof tracks 14. The leading edge 24 of the pallets 22 are secured to thesupport members 16 by fasteners, which may be applied to the pallet 22at 26. Pallets 22 may have a slight bend to them to negotiate the curvesin the unit 28.

Pallets 22 are made of steel or a similar material that can withstandtemperatures as high as 1400 degrees Fahrenheit. The steel may be forexample 16 gauge steel satisfying the requirements of ASTM specificationA424, but other steels could be used as well. The steel pallets 22 thengo through the porcelain enamel process. The process of formingporcelain enamel on steel is known in the art and is a process that iscommercially available from companies such as American Porcelain EnamelCompany of Dallas, Tex. The process involves three basic steps:fabricating, preparing the metal, and then processing.

Fabrication involves taking sheet steel or coil, cutting it to size bysheering, punching, or notching. Then forming the part by drawing,rolling, braking, or embossing. The part is then finished by welding,grinding, or supporting. The steel is then prepared by removing oils,drawing compounds, and soils. The steel is then pickled with acid toremove rust and welding oxides. The steel may be rinsed in between thesesteps. The porcelain enamel is then applied to the steel.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a schematic cross section of oneembodiment of pallet 22. The steel has a ground coat 29 of porcelainenamel applied to all the surfaces of the steel. The coat is dried andthen fired in a furnace with a temperature of approximately 1400 degreesFahrenheit. After applying the ground coat, a basic background orfinishing coat 31 of porcelain enamel is applied to the surface of thesteel, and the steel is again dried and fired in the same manner aspreviously described. The decorative designs may then be applied.

After the background coat is applied, one or more design coats 33 may beapplied. For example, a first design coat may be applied to the topsurface of the pallet 22 by spraying a porcelain enamel on the steel andallowing it to dry. After drying, the unwanted portions of the porcelainenamel may be removed by brushing or a similar process. The steel isthen fired, which completes the application of the first design coat.This step of applying a design coat, removing the unwanted portions, andfiring the steel can be repeated as many times as desired to add newcolors and aspects to the design so that a multi-colored decorativedesign is applied. Another approach for applying design coats to thesteel is to use a silk screen to apply the porcelain enamel in the areaswhere it is desired, drying the porcelain enamel, and then firing it.Other techniques are known in the art as well.

The porcelain enamel on steel process can be applied to the pallets 22so that a scratch-resistant and tough porcelain enamel surface exists.The process of using design coats can be used to place a decorativedesign 30 on the pallets 22. The decorative design 30 may be art work ormay be printed matter. The decorative design or printed matter 30 may beformed on one pallet or may stretch across numerous pallets. Theporcelain enamel pallets 22 provide a surface for the luggage 32 to bereceived.

Luggage 32 is delivered to the carousel 10 on feeding conveyor 34.Feeding conveyor 34 causes the luggage 32 to drop onto the surface ofthe pallets 22. The luggage 32 rests on the pallets 22 as the palletscontinuously move about the endless path defined by support wheel tracks14. Feeding conveyor 34 transports the luggage 32 from a loading area,which is remote from the carousel 10, and through an opening 36 that hasopening trim 38.

The support wheel tracks 14 and support wheels 18 are covered by fasciatrim 40. The pallet support members 16 have a motive force applied tothem typically by an electrical motor (not shown). The force causes thepallets to continuously move about the endless path defined by tracks14.

The carousel 10 has been described for one embodiment with rectangularpallets 22, but it is to be understood that variations in palletstructure can be made. For example, the pallets 22 may be half-moonshaped as shown in FIG. 2. Additionally, the carousel 10 may be flatinstead of inclined.

The porcelain enamel steel pallets 22 may be manufactured for newconveyor systems and airport carrousels, or may be manufactured toretrofit existing luggage carrousels 10. The retrofit would involveremoving the existing pallets or panels from the carousel 10 and thenfabricating steel pallets 22 with the same dimensions as the removedpallets and then applying a porcelain enamel ground and coat, and ifdesired, adding a decorative design such as a company logo or printedmatter by applying a background coat and one or more design coats ofporcelain enamel.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A conveyor system for moving luggage comprising:aplurality of supporting members; a plurality of pallets coupled to theplurality of supporting members; a plurality of wheels attached to theplurality of supporting members; support wheel tracks forming an endlesspath for receiving the plurality of wheels; means for providing a motiveforce to the plurality of pallets to move the pallets around the endlesspath; and porcelain enamel indicia secured to the plurality of palletsfor displaying a decorative design.
 2. The conveyor system of claim 1further comprising a plurality of straps attached between each of theplurality of pallets.
 3. The conveyor system of claim 1 wherein theporcelain enamel indicia further comprises:a ground coat of porcelainenamel applied to the top surface of each pallet; a finishing coat ofporcelain enamel applied to each pallet; and at least one design coat ofporcelain enamel applied to each pallet.
 4. The conveyor system of claim3 wherein the at least one design coat comprises one of a multi-coloredfigure and indicia.
 5. The conveyor system of claim 3 wherein the atleast one design coat further comprises a plurality of design coats,each coat providing one of a color and shape to the decorative design.6. The conveyor system of claim 5 wherein the plurality of design coatsare applied by a silk screening process.
 7. The conveyor system of claim1 wherein the decorative design on each of the plurality of palletsforms a continuous single decorative design.
 8. The conveyor system ofclaim 1 wherein the decorative design on at least two of the pluralityof pallets are unrelated.
 9. The conveyor system of claim 1 wherein thedecorative design is advertising.
 10. A pallet for use on luggagecarrousels comprising:a fabricated steel panel having a top, bottom, andside surface; a ground coat of porcelain enamel applied to the topsurface of the panel; a finishing coat of porcelain enamel applied tothe panel; and a plurality of design coats of porcelain enamel appliedto the panel forming a decorative design on the panel, each of thedesign coats defining one of a shape and color of the decorative design.11. The pallet of claim 10 wherein each of the plurality of design coatsis applied by a silk screening process.
 12. The pallet of claim 10wherein the decorative design is advertising.